Customer Reviews

ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 1 Backpacking Tent

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the advice of someone who owns a fleet of tents for commercial use I purchased this tent from the Alps Company. It was about $80 less than comparable freestanding solos from MSR, Big Agnes, and Mountain Hardwear. Despite the price difference, this tent is of the same quality as far as materials, workmanship, and design go. I was under the impression that Alps just copied others designs and that they saved their money in R&D. But this tent disproves that. The design is extremely practical. They took a simple timeless design with the two crossing poles and made a huge improvement to it just by adding an elbow resulting in more headroom where your head goes rather than in the middle of the tent where it is wasted. The innovative designs of the MSR Hubba or BA Seedhouse are great, but I really think this more basic modification performs equally as well. I know MSR used to provide the 3-sided stakes with some of their tents and that may be the only thing that is clearly superior to this Alps, which just provides your basic aluminum needle stakes.

The Zepyr 1 is roomier than I expected. Though you couldn't fit 2 sleeping bags side by side but I do think you could sleep two friendly people in here on a dry night. The Zephyr narrows slightly at the feet and leaves plenty of room for one person and some belongings. The vestibule is smaller than expected but should be adequate for a single pack. The Zephyr 1 requires the fly to have two included 12 inch guy wires attached to the bottom of the fly on each side in order to pull the fly from the body. With these in tack the fly did not touch the body anywhere, clearing by an average of about 2 inches. The poles have male fitting on the end and slide through eyelets attached to webbing on each corner. Fly attaches to each corner with adjustable side release buckles. A two piece spreader pole fits in above the door. Alps thoughtfully used a smaller diameter pole for this as it is non load bearing.

My first night in the Zephyr it rained lightly (1/2 of an inch in about 3 hours) and I stayed completely dry. This was in central Florida where humidity is high and condensation occurs every morning. I could feel only the slightest amount of moisture in the cotton teeshirt that was acting as my pillow. There was a bit of water pooling in the triangle created by the intersecting main poles and the spreader bar (maybe 10 mL), but nothing to be concerned about.

In sum, this has surpassed my expectations and it is definitely comparable to the products of the big gear companies. A bit heavier than a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL or a MSR Hubba but cost is 70% and 60% less respectively. I am convinced the price differential is not due to quality or R&D, but is instead due to the advertising campaigns of MSR, The North Face, and even Big Agnes these days. When you buy a Hubba you are paying for 2 page spreads in Outside and Backpacker. I will buy Alps again.

I am really happy with this tent. The design, craftsmanship, materials and quality all exceeded my expectations for the price. My Zephyr 1's maiden voyage was baptism by snow and wind on Mt. Adams in Wa. St. on October 2nd. This is a 3 season tent but it will keep you warm and dry if you use a well designed insulated sleeping mat like the Exped downmats combined with a good sleeping bag. We "guestimated" the windes at 20-40mph and tempuratures dipped into the low 20's F. I secured the tent with the supplied guy lines and aluminum stakes before turning in for the night and I was glad I took the extra steps. No one really wants to see the wind blowing snow sideways when we go camping. I highly recommend getting the footprint. Search for "floor saver" when trying to find the footprint. The footprint did its job well because the ground did freeze that night and I know it provided an insulating layer as well as protect the floor of the tent. I also liked that you can clip the urethane-coated polyester fly to the floor saver at all four corners.

Very high quality construction, nice packable weight, not bright clown colors, and spacious enough for comfortable extended stays in the field.
This tent is of the same caliber as Eureka, MSR, or Big Agnes, but can be found at a much more reasonable price-point. Set up is fast and easy, and as a free standing tent you have the added ability to pitch in a real hurry if need be. Staked out with the fly in place it was very secure in high winds at 6500 feet. The no-see-um mesh construction makes for excellent ventilation, no condensation issues, and sans fly a wonderful way to sleep under the stars without bugs all over your face. Plenty of room to sit up (I'm 5'11") and change or stretch, and the included gear loft is a nice bonus.
My only "complaint" is the length of the poles when collapsed; the tent can be compressed to very compact size, but the poles are still about 18" when stowed. But that is a minor complaint.

The Zephyr 1 is a great tent. When I was researching a single person tent, I wanted it to be free standing, under four pounds, and at least 36 inches wide. The Zepher 1 had all of these requirements and it is wider and has more head room than expected. I have taken the tent on several multi night packpacking trips and it has performed well. Twice I camped with the tent and it had snowed. There was no leaking and I was very comfortable.

I find there is plenty of room on the inside of the tent for extra clothes & gear. The vestibule is small,and hence the four star rating, but adequate enough for boots and smaller gear. You could store your pack there, but it would be tight. I usually store my pack outside with a waterproof pack cover anyway.

I was willing to pay more for a single person tent, but could find none that fit all my requirements.

First, this is a pretty decent tent. I have no complaints about the build quality, and it comes with two mesh pockets and even a gear loft included!

Having said that, I didn't expect it to be quite that small. I'm 6ft/183cm tall and sleeping on a size large Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite mat, the tent was barely long enough for me. I am fairly skinny, yet on the floor on the sides of the mat, there was barely enough space left for most basic necessities like a change of clothes. Your backpack will definitely need to stay outside, and the vestibule is again rather small; not sure if a large backpack and a pair of boots would fit in there.

As another reviewer commented, one must attach the guy ropes to the bottom of the fly on the sides to prevent the fly from touching the body. Since these are required and not merely a high-wind option as in other tents, why aren't they attached permanently to the fly? I already lost one of mine after a week of camping.

This tent satisfied my requirements which were to be freestanding,light weight,long, well ventilated, yet also with a fly ample enough for wind and rain protection. All this and for more than half the price of other brands.

This tent held up great on a 10-day bicycle trip in Thailand where there were tropical rainstorms. I always take it with me when I'm backpacking, even when I know I'll be sleeping in hostels- just in case the mosquitoes are bad, it's that light. Even though it says one man my girlfriend and I (both medium build and height) can sleep snugly inside.

Very happy with this purchase. In fact, I lost my other one and I bought another without even thinking of getting another brand.

I honestly think this tent beats out other "ultralights" that are $100-$200 more expensive.

I used this tent every night for 6 weeks straight last summer on a bike trip down the pacific coast. I was always comfortable and dry - through wind, rain, and lots of morning dew. Don't let the low price scare you - I never had any problems due to lack of durability or build quality. I really like the large vestibule and full coverage rain tarp. For warm nights with no moisture, I left the tarp off and the mesh screen allowed me gaze at the stars. The tent has plenty of room for extra gear inside and even comes with a gear loft. I would suggest the footprint (sold separately) to protect the tent floor. If you want a quality 3 season, single person backpacking tent and don't want to break the bank - this is your baby.

The tent looks well made. My only concern is the near flat area on the top of the tent. It apprears that the rainfly will have to be pulled very tight to prevent any rain from "pooling" here. However I normally use the guide lines on the rainfly so this should not be a problem for me. The tent has more then enough room for one person and some gear.

This is a well-made tent that generally performs as advertised. However, you need to think carefully whether this is the right tent for you. [Note that I am reviewing the *1-person* version of the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 3-Season Tent; there seem to be some other reviews mixed in here.] The tent is reasonably sturdy; is easy to assemble; has nice design features including the fact that the maximum headroom is actually over your head; and is wider than a lot of other one-person tents so that you can roll freely in your bag or store some of your gear down the sides (or both). There are tradeoffs, natch: I suspect the light-duty zippers and poles may not go the distance like a heavier-duty tent would, but that's to be expected at this weight and price point. Since ALPS kept its part of the bargain, I give the tent four stars. But wait - there's more! I purchased the tent for warm & dry season use in the Four Corners area. After a week-long backpack trip, I found myself wondering, "What were you thinking when you bought this thing?" For sure, the mesh sides keep out the bugs and let in the views, but the slightest bit of a breeze will load the tent's interior with sand and other fine grit. Yes, you could routinely use the rain fly - but then what's the point of a mesh-side tent? Plus I learned that in hella rain the fly is not that tight, and leaks. Normally you have a second line of defense in this situation - fabric on the roof & sides of your tent will absorb light-moderate drippage from your fly. With mesh sides, no such luck; it's a straight drip line through the mesh onto you & your bag. On two mornings water was actually puddled on the floor of the tent as a result. In other words, this tent would be perfect in a place where it doesn't rain and there isn't ever a breeze - but I'm not aware of any backcountry locations where you can count on that. I think I engaged in some wishful thinking when I made the decision to buy the tent, and I hope my flawed thinking might help you assess whether this tent is the right one for you.